Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 12, 2004 In Greece, a bridge crossing the Gulf of Corinth (an inlet of the Ionian Sea) was opened to the public. This bridge serves as a link between the towns of Rio (also known as Rion) on the Pelponnese peninsula and Antirrio on the country’s western mainland. The Rio-Antirrio Bridge carries the Greek... Continue Reading →
July 23, 1985 A prestressed concrete box-girder bridge in Thailand’s Nonthaburi Province was inaugurated. The bridge carries Rattanathibet Road (Highway 302) across the Chao Phraya River, which is the country’s major river, and connects the area between the subdistricts of Sai Ma and Bang Kraso with the subdistrict of Suan Yai. Construction on this bridge... Continue Reading →
July 3, 1938 On the eve of the United States’ 162nd birthday, NBC Radio conducted a nationwide broadcast commemorating the Lincoln Highway a quarter-century after an association was established to promote that coast-to-coast vehicular road. This radio program featured interviews with several Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) officials who had been instrumental in helping to create ... Continue Reading →
May 31, 1969 A major tunnel that is located just south of the Belgian city of Antwerp and had been built under the Scheldt river first went into service when it was opened to motor vehicle traffic. Another milestone for this tunnel took place just a little over eight months later when it was opened... Continue Reading →
February 14, 1941 A formal acknowledgement -- albeit one that had to be clarified -- was accorded the person who drove the one-millionth motor vehicle through New York City’s Queens-Midtown Tunnel about three months after the debut of that structure. The office of William H. Friedman, commissioner of the New York City Tunnel Authority (now part... Continue Reading →
January 22, 1960 A steel girder bridge in Pennsylvania’s capital city of Harrisburg was officially opened. The multi-lane John Harris Bridge carries Interstate 83 and that region’s Capital Beltway across the Susquehanna River. This bridge was specifically named after John Harris Sr. (1673-1748), a prominent trader and ferry operator in that area. Harrisburg was likewise... Continue Reading →
December 7, 1953 A new version of the Chamberlain Bridge in South Dakota was dedicated. This structure spans Lake Francis Case, an artificial reservoir that is impounded by Fort Randall Dam on the Missouri River, and it connects the city of Chamberlain in Brule County with the town of Oacoma in Lyman County. The present-day... Continue Reading →
December 4, 2007 A newly built tunnel in northeastern Spain’s autonomous community of Catalonia was inaugurated. This 3.3-mile (5.3-kilometer)-long tunnel is actually the second of two tunnels that are part of the N-230 road and connect the municipality of Vielha e Mijaran, capital of the administrative entity of Aran, with the comarca (administrative division) of... Continue Reading →
November 16, 2019 In the San Francisco Bay Area, a dedication ceremony – complete with a ribbon-cutting -- was held less than two weeks before Thanksgiving for a bicycle and pedestrian path that had recently been added to the San Rafael-Richmond Bridge (officially named the John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge in honor of a longtime... Continue Reading →
October 24, 1923 The Pacific Highway was officially opened in Olympia, Washington. This international highway would ultimately extend from Vancouver in British Columbia to San Diego in California. There were 1,687 miles (2,715 kilometers) of the Pacific Highway in place by 1926, making this route the longest continuously paved road at that time. The 1923... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 